WILD weather lashed the west of Victoria, including a ''mini-tornado'' that hit Ballarat.

It tore through the city at 3.30pm yesterday, ripping roofs from homes and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

The SES had 70 reports of storm damage and trees down in the region, the Herald Sun reports.

Bureau Of Meteorology severe weather meteorologist James Taylor said the Ballarat storm had two direct lines of damage.

He said selective winds and rain tore through some properties while leaving others close by unscathed in behaviour that mimics the selective destruction of large-scale tornadoes.

Melbourne was spared much damage from the deluge, which hit the city shortly before 5.30pm, dropping up to 12mm of rain in 30 minutes at Altona.

There were also reports of flooding at the Tarneit Primary School.

SES spokesman Lachlan Quick said the worst of the storm moved over Melbourne quickly, with few call-outs in the metro region.

Read more at the Herald Sun.